From raw spuds to premium brands and machines that print money, this is the mindset shift that separates true entrepreneurs from everyday business owners.
Why potatoes might be the best business lesson you hear all year
At first glance, a potato is a potato: a cheap, everyday commodity. In this episode, Bruce Coudrey and Peter Spinda show that this “boring” vegetable is actually a powerful lens on entrepreneurial thinking, value creation and growth strategy. The same object can underpin dozens of different business models depending on how creatively you look at it and how bravely you’re willing to experiment.
The result is a highly visual, surprisingly practical exploration of what really separates an entrepreneur from a traditional business owner: the ability to see opportunity, test ideas in small steps, and build systems that turn simple inputs into scalable, profitable outputs.
Business owner vs entrepreneur: the real difference
The service station story: seeing opportunity
The conversation begins with a story from Bruce’s time as a service station owner. A mentor once stood with him across the road and asked, “What do you see?” Bruce replied with what most owners would: canopy, pumps, people, cars. The mentor’s answer was different: “Opportunity.”
That single word flipped a switch. Instead of just selling fuel, Bruce started experimenting with Christmas trees, videos, watches and other offers to monetise the constant flow of passing traffic. The location hadn’t changed; the way he saw it had. That mindset shift is the thread that runs all through the potato analogy.
Business owner: maintaining the model
In the episode, the “business owner” is represented by a generational potato farmer who sells bulk potatoes the way it’s always been done: by the kilo, at markets. The focus is on production and continuity rather than invention.
- Core question: “How do I keep doing what we’ve always done, as efficiently as possible?”
- Risk posture: low; changes are incremental, if at all.
Entrepreneur: multiplying value from the same base
The entrepreneur, by contrast, inherits the same farm but keeps asking, “What else can this become?” and “Who else could this serve?” They rethink distribution, packaging, processing, by‑products, tools and branding – all without changing the basic ingredient.
- Core question: “How many ways can this asset create value?”
- Risk posture: willing to experiment in small, measured steps, scaling what works.
The potato as a value-creation engine
Step 1: From loose spuds to packaged product
The first evolution is simple but powerful: rather than only selling loose potatoes at markets, the entrepreneur starts supplying supermarkets and retailers, sometimes under different store brands.
Key shifts:
- Move from markets to retail distribution (IGAs, Coles, Woolworths, etc.).
- Package potatoes in branded bags, creating a more convenient, higher‑perceived‑value product.
The potato hasn’t changed; the presentation, access and margin have.
Step 2: Clean vs dirty – selling time, not just food
Next, the farmer realises that many customers are willing to pay to save time. By investing in cleaning or brushing equipment, they can sell “ready to cook” washed potatoes at a premium.
- Dirty potatoes: lower price, more work for the customer.
- Clean potatoes: higher price, same product, but time and effort removed.
Again, the core ingredient is unchanged, but the value proposition is transformed: the business is now selling time and convenience, not just raw produce.
Peeling back the layers: turning scraps into profit
Peels, scraps and the entrepreneur’s eye
Once potatoes start being peeled, there’s a pile of offcuts and skins that a traditional operator might see as waste. The entrepreneurial response is different: “Who else could use this, and what would they pay for it?”
Potential uses include:
- Selling peels as seasoned potato skin snacks via chip manufacturers
- Supplying peels and trimmings to animal feed producers
- Providing organic material for biofuel or ethanol production
What was once a cost to dispose of becomes a new set of revenue streams, all derived from what others might throw away.
From one product to a portfolio
At this point, the business is already generating income from:
- Raw loose potatoes
- Packaged and branded potatoes
- Cleaned potatoes
- Peeled potatoes
- Multiple by‑products from peels and offcuts
The same crop now underpins a mini‑portfolio of products and customers, which spreads risk and increases overall margin.
Cutting, shaping and experimenting: wedges, fries and chips
Small experiments before big investments
Armed with a basic knife, the entrepreneur starts cutting potatoes into wedges, fries and other shapes to test if existing customers are interested. This is done initially at small scale, as an experiment, using existing tools and relationships.
Typical steps:
- Take samples to current buyers (restaurants, supermarkets) and ask if they would purchase pre‑cut wedges or fries.
- If there is genuine interest and quantified demand, negotiate orders and pre‑payments to de‑risk capital investment.
This test‑and‑measure approach prevents the classic mistake of scrapping the old model too early or investing heavily before demand is validated.
Upgrading tools: knives, then machines
As demand for value‑added cuts grows, the entrepreneur upgrades from a basic knife to a better one: faster, more precise, more efficient. This is still a tool, but now clearly an investment in productivity rather than a simple expense.
Eventually, manual cutting reaches its limit, and a custom machine is introduced that can turn whole potatoes into uniform chips at scale in seconds. The benefits are obvious:
- Massive increase in output per hour
- Consistent size and quality, ideal for food services or chip manufacturers
- Lower labour cost per kilo processed
Here, technology, systems and automation amplify the original idea into something that is actually scalable.
When your tool becomes the product
Selling the machine, not just the chips
An important twist occurs when the entrepreneur realises that other farmers and processors share the same problem: how to cut potatoes quickly and consistently. The custom machine solving this problem is itself a potential product.
New opportunity:
- Commercialise the chip‑cutting machine
- Sell or license it to other producers, turning former competitors into customers
- Build maintenance, servicing or software around the tool
The business now spans:
- Farming and supply
- Processing and value‑added food products
- Equipment design and manufacturing
This is a classic entrepreneurial pattern: identify a repeatable solution to your own bottleneck, then turn that solution into a business in its own right.
Vertical and horizontal expansion from the same potato
Vertical expansion: moving up and down the chain
Vertical expansion means owning more stages of the value chain:
- Upstream: farming and sourcing potatoes
- Midstream: cleaning, peeling, cutting, pre‑cooking
- Downstream: manufacturing branded chips, snacks or pre‑cooked products for retail or food service
By integrating multiple stages, the entrepreneur captures more margin and exerts more control over quality and pricing.
Horizontal expansion: new markets, new niches
Horizontal expansion means diversifying across different products and customer segments using similar capabilities. Examples include:
- Offering skin‑on rustic fries vs. skinless fries
- Supplying different cut sizes or styles (wedges, shoestring, crinkle) for different cuisines
- Developing private‑label products for other brands alongside your own
The potato becomes a platform, not just a product.
Brand, positioning and premium niches
Competing with giants by telling a better story
The episode stresses that small producers cannot out‑scale industrial processors, but they can differentiate through positioning and story. For example, a farmer using a “dull knife” in volume terms might still win by positioning their output as:
- Hand‑cut, small‑batch fries from an heirloom potato variety
- Traceable, regenerative agriculture potatoes sold at farmers markets
- Limited‑run, chef‑collaborated products for high‑end restaurants
Here, brand, narrative and customer experience allow higher prices and loyalty even against cheaper mass‑market competition.
Trends, tech and the return of the artisanal
The hosts also note that as technology and AI saturate our lives, many consumers are seeking more human, tactile, “real” experiences—think farmers markets, craft foods and direct‑from‑producer stories. Entrepreneurs who understand this can intentionally position their “potato products” in ways that tap into these emotional and social trends, not just functional needs.
When not to chase an opportunity
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should
The potato can also be turned into starch, flakes, mash, vodka and even gin. But that doesn’t automatically mean every potato farmer should start a distillery.
Before chasing a new lane, entrepreneurs are encouraged to ask:
- Do we understand this industry’s economics and regulations?
- Is the market growing, saturated or declining?
- What margins are realistic, and who are the incumbents?
- Do we have the skills, partners or capital to execute, or would we be outgunned from day one?
Sometimes, smart strategy means walking away from glamorous opportunities and doubling down on the less flashy, more aligned ones
The potato as a metaphor for the entrepreneur
Resilience and adaptability
Beyond products and processes, the potato mirrors the entrepreneur’s psychological reality. Potatoes grow in a wide range of soils and climates, tolerate scarcity and were even the first vegetable grown in space in 1995. Likewise, entrepreneurs must be able to survive and adapt in changing, often hostile conditions.
They need to:
- Withstand uncertainty, setbacks and shifting markets
- Keep evolving their “strain” of business to suit new environments
- Wear different hats and adapt roles as their ventures grow and change
Asking: “What’s my potato?”
The core challenge from the episode is simple and profound: what is your equivalent of the potato?
- For some, it is a core product or service.
- For others, it is a skill set, a piece of IP, a distribution channel or a customer base.
The entrepreneurial task is to look at that core asset and ask, “How many ways can this create value? What by‑products am I ignoring? What tools could I build that others would pay for?”
Key takeaways
- The main difference between a business owner and an entrepreneur is not the asset they hold, but how many opportunities they can see within it.
- Simple changes—packaging, cleaning, peeling—can turn commodities into higher‑margin, time‑saving products without changing the core ingredient.
- Scraps and by‑products (like potato skins) can become profitable inputs for other industries when viewed through an opportunity lens.
- Smart entrepreneurs experiment with new products in small steps before committing serious capital, using existing customers to validate demand.
- Tools, systems and automation (from better knives to custom machines) turn fragile ideas into scalable operations—and sometimes become stand‑alone businesses.
- Vertical and horizontal expansion from a single “potato” can create a portfolio of revenue streams and a more resilient business.
- Not every possible use (like vodka) is worth pursuing; market fit, margins, capacity and timing still matter.
- Entrepreneurs, like potatoes, must be resilient, adaptable and able to thrive in tough, changing environments.
Callout:
The entrepreneur’s job is not to find new potatoes. It is to find new possibilities in the potatoes already in front of them.
Real-world applications: finding and growing your “potato”
1. Audit your current “raw potato”
Start by identifying your core input:
- Product: what do you consistently deliver (e.g., software, food, creative work)?
- Capability: what do you or your team do better than most (e.g., logistics, storytelling, relationship‑building)?
- Asset: what do you own (e.g., data, audience, processes, locations)?
Write these down; they are your potato.
2. Map value-add and by-products
Ask “potato questions” of your existing business:
- What is my “washed” version (saving customers time or effort)?
- What is my “peeled” version (taking one more step off their plate)?
- What scraps am I throwing away—data, unused capacity, off‑cuts, rejected ideas—that might be valuable to someone else?
Brainstorm possible products or services, then shortlist a few that are simple, adjacent and testable.
3. Run low-risk experiments
Choose one or two ideas and:
- Turn them into simple prototypes or offers.
- Show them to existing customers first and ask for honest feedback and provisional orders.
- Use this data to decide whether to invest in better “knives” (tools) or build a “machine” (system or automation).
Focus on learning quickly rather than betting big.
Conclusion and call to action
The potato episode is a vivid reminder that opportunity rarely arrives looking glamorous; it usually looks like something you already have, seen with new eyes. Entrepreneurs win not by finding perfect conditions, but by experimenting, adding value and building systems that turn simple inputs into layered, resilient businesses.
A practical next step: take 30 minutes this week to sit with your team and ask, “What’s our potato, and what are we not doing with it yet?” List at least ten potential variations, by‑products or tools, then choose one low‑risk experiment to launch in the next 30 days. Treat that experiment like your first peeled potato—and see what new revenue streams might be hiding in your scraps.